Professional Documents
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BACKGROUND
Think about the things that enter the wastewater system from a typical home: human waste; soap, detergents, and cleaning
products from drains and washing machines; food items from garbage disposals; and anything people pour down the sink drain.
How is this material removed so that the water can be safely returned to the environment and used again? The answer depends
on where you live. If your home is not serviced by a public sewer system, your wastes are treated with a septic system. If your
home is connected to a public sewer system, the water goes to a local wastewater treatment plant.
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What happens to the remaining water? (Discuss the role of chlorine in your answer)
Flows to the chlorine contact channel; chlorine enters the waste stream though these yellow pipes. The chlorine is added to
kill germs and to clarify the water.
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According to the U.S. EPA, what does it mean to flush responsibly? What items should you never put down the drain in
your house?
Cleaners
Beauty Products
Medicine
Auto fluid
Paint, and lawn
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What did people do with their waste before we had sewer systems and septic tanks? When did the Federal government
start to mandate that wastewater be treated before being returned to rivers, lakes and the ocean?
Up until the mid-1800s it was common practice to simply dump chamber pots and garbage into street side gutters,
ditches, and cesspits. It wasnt until the 1970s.
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Anything you flush down the toilet will eventually show up at the wastewater treatment plant. Lets say you accidentally
drop a small towel down the toilet. What device is likely to catch the towel at the plant, and what would be its ultimate
destination if this occurred at the Blue Plains plant?
It would be taken out by the Debris remover and taken to the landfill.
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Why is the wastewater effluent treated with chlorine, bleach, or ultraviolet light after secondary treatment?
It is treated with these items to further clean and disinfect the water, of any pollutants.
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Describe how the organic solids collected in the wastewater treatment plant are processed after collection, and list their
final destinations at the profiled plant.
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Both nitrogen and phosphorus can occur in large concentrations in wastewater effluent. Why is this a potential problem?
Describe, the approaches taken at the Blue Plains plant to deal with nitrogen and phosphorus removal prior to the release
of the effluent into the environment.